All law officers feel a duty to protect their fellow human beings. From members of the military to the Baronial Officers, anyone who makes a career out of protecting others has an innate sense of duty and a mandate to aid those in need. But a security guard who followed that intuition and responded to police officers in distress has been fired for that obligation. Now, lawmakers are asking, "Can an officer of the law be fired for helping others?"

Ice Ring University is a wealthy, private university with about 6,000 students and a focus on research. Like most universities its size, it employs security guards to patrol the campus. Because of its location in the planet HuSton’sice rings, the security guards are also equipped with jet packs and station-to-planet transportation systems.

Security guard Vavid Selsznick made good use of both when he heard over the police feeds that a shooting was taking place on the planet’s surface. The shootout at a small transportation depot located directly under the guard’s station was escalating and an officer was already down. With the location two minutes away by jet pack and STP transport, Selsznick rushed to help his fellow officers. Selsznick was able to angle his transport in such a way that the police officers were given cover in the firefight. Selsnick did not participate in the shootout, but the resources and aid he brought to the officers on the scene was invaluable.

The local police called him a hero. Ice Ring University called him fired.

Ice Ring believed that Selsznick did not follow procedure while rushing to the officer’s aid. Because of budget cutbacks there were only two other guards on duty at the time. Ice Ring believed that in running to help the officers Selsznick put the students and faculty at risk. If there had been a major emergency on campus, his help would have been desperately needed. Selsznick fired back, saying that there were procedures in place for this scenario, and he had followed them before leaving his post. But the university claims they never received Selsznick’s desperate communications to his direct superior, and as such had reason to fire him.

The Hu-Ston Police Department thought this was outrageous. Hu-Ston cops had been called in to assist at Ice Ring on a number of occasions, and had received no resistance from the university. In fact, Hu-Ston cops had been called to assist the university in disputes 37 times in the last six months alone. They tried to put pressure on the university, asking them to reconsider their position.

Ice Ring pushed back. They stated they were a baronial university, and as such had no responsibility to the police unions or to any police matter that did not pertain to a crime on their campus.

The officers Selsznick aided eventually held a press conference, thanking him for his assistance and once again asking the university to reconsider. They called him a hero and someone who should be commended for his efforts. Despite the publicity this brought to the incident, Ice Ring refused to change its mind.

Selsnick, who took up employment at Rice so his children could get an education at the university, is still trying to pick up the pieces. The police unions have helped some of his problems, donating over 2,000 krohl to cover his mortgage and other basic expenses. And as a former police officer and a 17 year law enforcement veteran he is grateful the officers he assisted are safe. No one but the shooter was killed in the shootout, but if he had not intervened things could have been much different.